The trace of fear
by monangenoir
Summary: All Beth Greene dreamed of was to become a journalist in New York City; she never thought following her dream would lead her right into the clutches of a dangerous gang. Will she manage to escape her captors? Will she even want to? (AU)
1. Chapter 1

**Here's a story I wrote last summer. I know beth has been killed off in the show but I hope there are still some fans out there wanting to read a bethyl fanfiction. I hope you enjoy it!**

Prologue

Just when things had started to fall into place, her entire world had been turned upside down.

Call it faith if you will, or maybe even bad luck, but she had been at wrong place at the wrong time and now things had been set into motion.

Things that went far beyond her understanding.

She could never go back to her old life; she could never get back what she once had. She was trapped, chained to this new dangerous world, and lost in dark blue eyes.

After all, don't they say that bad things happen to good people?

Chapter 1

"Beth! Are you even listening to me?"

Her phone was balanced between her shoulder and the crook of her neck; she was intently reading her files, completely oblivious to the angry huff that sounded from across the other line.

"Just putt the damn files away for two minutes!"

Beth let out a soft sigh, and obliged.

"Sorry Maggie! I'm just completely buried in work."

"Well you're the one who wanted to do that high class internship; did you expect it to be a walk in the park? "

She ran her fingers tiredly through her blonde locks. "No, but I didn't expect it to be this hectic. Maybe this was a mistake. "

Her older sister's voice immediately took on a softer edge. "Don't you even think of giving up, Bethy. It'll all pay off in the end, you'll be the best journalist there is in all of New York City! Now enough talk about giving up! Tell me what the big city is like! "

A smile immediately played along her lips as she thought about her new home. Only two weeks ago she had been back home, back at the farm, finishing her first year at a local college. She had been dreaming of a different life, an exciting life, where she worked as a journalist in a big firm in a big city. She couldn't say that she was exactly living the dream, but this, her new hectic life, it was a start.

"Everything is so different, Meg! It's just full of life! I can't even describe it; you need to come see it for yourself! "

"I promise I will as soon as I can! But please be careful, Beth, don't forget that it's dangerous out there. "

She rolled her eyes and laughed.

"Don't worry! Nothing bad is going to happen to me. "

* * *

The wind whipped through his hair as he approached the city, the motor of his bike groaned in protest as he continuously pushed to go faster.

He needed to find his brother and he needed to find him now.

Word on the street was that Merle was getting involved with a gang in New York City. It could be useless gossip but knowing his reckless brother he had a feeling it wasn't.

He had tried several times to get a hold of Merle without success, which meant that if he wanted to talk to his older brother, he would have to find him.

He needed to talk to Merle into dropping the gang now. He knew that Merle hadn't most likely joined yet which meant he could still walk away. But there wasn't much time, once a gang claimed someone as their own, you were trapped for life. And his brother was not one to commit to anything, sooner rather than later he would get himself killed.

Daryl only hoped he would find him alive.

* * *

Beth dug into the pile of cloths beside her bed, once she finally found her favourite running shorts; she grabbed a t-shirt at random and exited her rather small bedroom. She slipped both articles of clothing on while walking towards the main living area ,which consisted of a big room that contained the kitchen, the dining room, and the living room.

The walls were painted an odd shade of yellow, she had thought of repainting them at first but had later changed her mind, she rather liked the yellow now, besides she figured that there really was no point in repainted her apartment now, since she wouldn't be here long.

She sat down on her kitchen counter and put both running shoes on. Her evening run had become a daily activity since arriving in New York. She desperately needed a time to clear her head after a day at the firm. She loved to feel the wind across her hair as she ran, to see the lively city, it was quite therapeutic.

And today, she needed to go on a very long run. Her day had gone from bad to absolutely terrible. She went from misplacing files to spilling bowling coffee all over her white blouse. To make matters worse she had been asked to go home early because she had not thought of bringing an extra change of clothing. Her boss had referred to her as being "unprofessional".

She had only been here for two weeks and already she was making a bad name for herself.

She tied her hair in a high pony tail and left the apartment.

* * *

He made his first stop at a small bar.

It was located between what was known as "a safe neighborhood" and "a dangerous neighborhood" a borderline between the two if you will.

It was also a hot spot for gang activity. The ideal place to look for his ass of a brother.

It was still light outside, he had arrived much earlier than anticipated, which meant that the bar would most likely be deserted but he figured he could look around quickly and come back later when the streets grew dark, and everyone came out to play.

He climbed off of his large black bike and walked towards the bar.

Just like he had thought, the inside was mostly empty safe from a few old drunkards. He left as quickly as he arrived and started walking back towards his bike. He stopped short as he heard a furious growl followed by noises of a struggle.

A loud gunshot followed suit and he cautiously went to observe the scene.

There in the alley beside the bar, lay a dead man drenched in his own blood.

His murderer stood before him, still clenching the weapon in his grasp.

Daryl slowly walked into the alley, so that he was now in plain sight.

Both men locked gazes, and the murderer broke into a large grin.

-Looks like you found me, baby brother.

Daryl crossed the alley, grabbed his brother from the collar and slammed him against the grey brick wall.

"What the hell have you done?" -He growled furiously. As a response the man he had pinned against the wall began to laugh.

"Calm down, baby brother. " -He said in between gasps of laughter- "this ain't just some random killing. Everything is taken care of. "

His eyes continuously darted towards the dead body that lay a few feet away and his brothers grinning facce. It had all been a job-he realized- his brother was now killing for the gang. Merle was already in too deep.

He was too late.

He slowly unclenched his fingers from Merles collar and backed away.

"Now now, no need to get all dramatic on me. You've seen dead bodies before. "

Daryl clenched and unclenched his fists. His eyes stayed fixated on the body. Yes, he had seen dead bodies before. Hell, he had seen more killings then he'd like to remember, done things he wished he hadn't. But in that very moment, as he gazed upon the body, he knew that he had to let go of his brother go once in for all. They had never gotten along, didn't even like each other half the time, but they always had each other's backs. Would die, and have _killed_ for each other.

But Daryl could no longer protect his brother. He had tried to save him, but Merle was now a lost cause. He went riding into waters Daryl had sworn to never cross again.

Without giving his brother another glance, he started walking towards the exit.

"Leaving so soon? "

"I've got nothing to say to you. " -His tone was cold, final- "you're on your own. "

Merle ran up to Daryl, gun still in hand, and blocked his path.

"Don't act as if you're any better than me, Daryl. As if you ain't done no wrong. "

He froze, as Merle laid a hand on his shoulder.

"This is our world; this is what we're good at. Join me; I want my brother by my side again. "

His jaw clenched in anger. Memories of his dark past flashed before his eyes, memories of sufferance of uncontrollable anger, of death, death by his own two hands. He closed his eyes, and slowly relaxed his face. No, he would not think of such things. He was better now. He wanted to be different. He would never fall back into that hell again. He wouldn't let the anger consume him any longer.

"I'm done with that kind of life; I'm trying to be a good person now. "

His brother gave him a mocking grin.

"You can't pretend to be something you're not. "

* * *

The faster she went the more she could drown out her own thoughts; she was shocked when she spotted the big familiar building looming in the distance.

She had ran so fast passed her usual running route that she had decided to keep going onward. Of course she should have realized that onward let directly to the firm. The very place she wished to avoid.

Letting out a frustrated sigh she spun around and began running in the opposite direction, bumping into pedestrians as she went.

 _This stupid city is too crowded._ She thought scornfully.

Usually she loved to surround herself with the never ending crowds of people but today it all seemed to overwhelm her, the sensation of claustrophobia began creeping in. She felt as if there wasn't enough oxygen, as if everything was closing in on her.

She needed to get away from all these people.

She turned at random into a small street, and kept doing so until the crowd of people began to lessen and lessen to the point where she was alone on the streets. She passed by a small run down bar and came to an abrupt stop to catch her breath.

As her breathing began to regulate, she stood up straighter and took in her surroundings, trying to figure out exactly where she was. Her heart immediately sank in fear as she realized she was lost in what seemed to be a rougher part of the city.

Her eyes traveled to the alleyway she had halted in front of, and she immediately froze as she took in the scene before her.

Two men we're starring at her, one happened to be holding a gun, and behind them lay a dead man in a puddle of his own blood.

Before she had the chance to react she was being hustled into the alley by the very man holding the gun. She trashed uncontrollably against his hold and began calling desperately for help.

The man swore under his breath and clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Quiet" -he growled

She felt the tip of his gun press to the side of her head; she went completely still.

The other man, the younger of the two, advanced upon them.

"What the hell are you doing? Let the girl go. "

"And have her run along to the police? "

Beth whimpered against the man's hand. Tears were now streaming down her face. Through her bleared vision she could see dark blue eyes regarding her sadly.

"She's innocent."

"She'll get us both killed."

Suddenly she was thrown onto the ground in front of both men. Her soft sobbing increased as she saw the older man raise his gun to her head. His light blue orbs were swiped clean of all emotion; there was no doubt that he was really going to do it.

 _I'm going to die. I'm going to die._

Just when she thought he was going to pull the trigger, the younger man with dark hair, grabbed the gun by the barrel and swung.

For Beth, everything went black.

* * *

 **Please review! I love feedback**


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm really happy to hear there are still many bethyl fans out there!:) Sorry for the wait, i really hope you guys enjoy this second chapter.**

 **Please review! it keeps me motivated!**

* * *

Who's that shadow holding me hostage?

I've been here for days.

Who's this whisper telling me,

that i'm never gonna get away?

-Stockholm Syndrome

Chapter 2

 _Images, faces, memories, flashed across her mind._

 _Her mother packing her bag, her parting kiss, watching her drive away for the last time._

 _Maggie sticking up for her in the playground, beating down anyone who dared hurt her, fighting the battles she was never strong or brave enough to fight herself._

 _Her father's beaming face when she graduated high school. The few proud tears that threatened to escape his kind loving eyes._

 _Wasn't your life meant to flash across your eyes seconds before you die? If that was true, what was happening to her now? Was this death? Reliving memory after memory, never having the control to change anything? Was this hell?_

 _A collage of images became spinning around in her head. Strangely the spinning motion made her think of a merry-go-round, going faster and faster to the point where she was sure to be flung off._

* * *

"Merle, She's waking up."-said a low, raspy voice-

"She ain't my problem. You brought her into this."-came the slightly higher pitched voice "You deal with it."

The sound of a door being slammed finally broke her free of the consuming darkness.

Her eyes flew open, and she found herself staring at a white ceiling. She squinted her eyes against the dull lighting, slightly wincing when her head began to pound, and began to unconsciously brush her fingers against the hard floor. She froze when her fingers came in contact with a smooth sleek material. She shot up into a sitting position and looked down to see that she was sitting on a leather jacket.

Immediately she began to scan her surroundings in a panic, she was in a small, barely lit room; the walls were painted a dull, faded grey, the same shade of grey as the hard cement floor she sat upon. The only furniture consisted of a small wooden table with a mix match set of chairs.

Where in the world was she?

Her eyes continued to make their journey across the room until they fell upon a tall figure in the far corner of the room, near the door.

Little by little, memories came crashing down upon her.

Her horrible day at the firm.

Her long daily run.

The alley way.

The two men with the gun.

The dead body.

The gun pointed at her head.

Oh god. Oh god! Her eyes grew wide in fear and she scrambled as far away from the figure as she could until she was pressed against the wall, shaking in utter terror.

Slowly the man came out from the shadows with his hands up at his sides, indicating that he had no weapons, she presumed, but the fact that his hands were empty did nothing to soothe her. This man could kill her easily without any weapons at all, that much was painfully obvious. He looked to be well past six feet, with a heavyset built.

In the dull lighting she could hardly make out his features, but even from across the room she could tell he had a strong jaw line, shaggy dark hair, and was probably in his early to mid-treaties.

"I'm not going to hurt you." -he told her gently.

Before she could stop herself a hysteric bubble of laughter escaped her lips, she buried her face in her hands, shaking her head in disbelief.

The man cautiously took a few steps towards her which caused her head to shoot up in panic.

"Stay back!" -she shouted-

He paused at the sound of her voice, and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I told you I ain't gonna hurt you."

"Then let me go."-her voice came off more as a whimper than anything else.

He took a few steps away from her as if stung.

"I can't."-came his low reply-"At least not now."

At his words, her eyes watered and a few tears slid down her already wet cheeks. She buried her face in her hands once more.

The door to the small room abruptly swung open and a man walked in.

"Well, well, well, looks like sleeping beauty is awake."

She slowly looked up, and gave the man a hate filled glare, which caused him to throw back his head in laughter.

"Looks like she's got some fire after all."

The cruel older man came to stand directly in front of her and crouched down so that he was eye levelled with her; she stiffened and tried to lean away.

"You best not do anything stupid." -there was now a threatening edge to his voice.

"Merle."-came a growling voice from behind them.

He shot up to his feet and hit his forehead with the palm of his hand.

"Where are my manners?"-he said in a mocking voice.

"I'm Merle and behind this is my baby brother, Daryl."

He flashed her a grin and held out his hand. She stared at his outstretched hand in fear, remembering when the very same hand had held a gun to her head.

After a few seconds had passed, he brought his hand to his side, and crouched down once more.

"This is the part where you tell me your name."

When she gave him no reply, both of his hands came crashing down on either side of her head, which caused her to jump in alarm.

"What's your name?"-he slowly asked again-

The tears had yet again returned. "B-beth."

He smiled and stood back up.

"I think I prefer sleeping beauty."

* * *

Beth sat in one of the mix matched set of chairs in the room. She had her legs curled up to her chest and was thankful that presently she was alone.

She finally had a small moment to herself to sort through her troubled thoughts. To calm down, or at least attempt to slow down her racing heart. She needed to determine her next course of action with a rational mind. One of her strong suits has always been her keen sense of organization, her ability to categorize practically everything.

And just like any overly organized person would do,

She was going to form a detailed plan, an escape plan.

Beth could no longer be the frightened little girl depending on her older sister to defend her. She was on her own and the only one she could rely on now was herself.

She was going to fight to stay alive and find a way out of this hell; she had too much to live for! She would not allow herself to get crippled with fear.

She would not allow either of these two men to decide her fate,

She would find a crack in their armour eventually and when she did,

She would strike.

* * *

 **I hope you like it, review for more!**

 **-Claudia**


	3. Chapter 3

Look to the stars,

Let hope burn in your eyes.

-Muse, Stockholm syndrome

Chapter 3

A quiet knock sounded on the door. Beth took in a deep breath, uncurled her legs from her chest, and turned towards the noise. The handle slowly twisted and the dark haired man, Daryl, walked in wearing the very same leather jacket she had woken up upon.

In his hands, he carried a plate of food. He slowly walked towards her and sat it down on the table in front of her.

"Thought you might be hungry." -his soft raspy voice echoed across the quiet room.

The thought of eating anything he had touched with his hands immediately made her feel sick to her stomach. No doubt plenty must have died by those very two hands, hands that were all but dripping with blood.

"No, I don't want it."

After the words escaped her lips, she feared her statement would anger him, cause him to lash out and possibly hurt her. Her resolve of staying brave was quickly escaping her, her imagination was going wild, and the scared little Beth quickly resurfaced. She bit her lip nervously and looked up at her captor's face, to her complete shock his dark orbs held no anger, in fact she swore she saw a brief flash of guilt.

As if sensing she was staring, he looked directly at her. Beth panicked and immediately looked down to the floor.

"Well, I'll leave it here for you just in case."

She lifted her gaze to his face again and eyed him warily. Why was he being nice? Was he trying to lure her into a sense of false security? Was this all some twisted game?

His voice broke her free from her thoughts.

"I'm sorry for how my brother treated you." -he took a short pause- "But I wouldn't worry about him, he's all bark and no bite."

 _Ha, yeah right. He didn't seem all bark and no bite when he was pointing a gun to my head._ She thought bitterly.

"He won't hurt you." -he continued in a manner that sounded almost uncertain, as if he was trying to convince himself that his own words were truthful.

She couldn't help but voice, her opinion, despite her fear.

"You expect me to believe that?" -she said a little shakily- "you don't even seem to believe it yourself."

He seemed to struggle to find a response. Beth spoke before he could say anything, as a memory flashed across her mind quite suddenly.

"He was going to kill me, but you stopped him." -as she spoke, she unconsciously traced the tender flesh of her forehead- "why?"

His eyes locked on her fingers that still rested upon her forehead and he went as still as a rock.

After moments of silence dragged by, Beth believed he wasn't going to answer, but eventually she heard a barely audible whisper.

"You're innocent."

"Has that ever stopped you before?" -she quickly spat out in anger without thinking.

His whole demeanour changed as fast as a raging storm, his eyes darkened in anger and his hands balled up in fists at his side. Her words had clearly struck a very dangerous chord.

On instinct she brought her arms up to cover her face from any possible hits, her eyes squinted shut in anticipation.

She awaited the blow, but agonizing seconds quickly turned into minutes. Eventually she couldn't take the suspense any longer so she opened her eyes and slightly lowered her arms so that she could see him.

He stood in the very same place as before, his hands were still balled up in fists at his side, and his jaw was tense, but his eyes had lost their crazed look.

"I ain't gonna hit you." -he said sharply-

Daryl walked towards the door.

"And I don't kill the innocent."

As she watched him leave the room, she couldn't help but think one thing.

 _But you do kill._

* * *

After her encounter with Daryl she was left in the room alone once again. As before she was trying to come up with a logical escape plan, but wasn't having much luck with such a task.

Her blather felt as if it were to explode and she could literally think of nothing else.

Beth was terrified to approach the door, but on the other hand, she refused to live through the embarrassment of not being able to find a washroom in time.

Slowly she got up from the chair and walked towards the white wooden door. She twisted the handle and was shocked to see that it was unlocked. She wanted to slap herself for not checking sooner.

But who could have predicted that it would have been unlocked?

Did they really consider her no threat at all?

She held her breath and opened the door a little more so that she could just squeeze herself through.

On the other side of the door was a rundown looking kitchen, she could also see a small hallway that would most likely lead her to a washroom. But her eyes seemed to be glued to the unguarded front door; it was all but mocking her, offering her freedom.

She looked around the room quickly and warily took a step towards the door when neither of her captors came in sight.

 _Where are Merle and Daryl?_ Beth questioned nervously. _Could they have possibly stepped out, and accidentally forgotten to lock me in?_ Her wishful thinking sounded naïve, even to her own ears.

Rationally she knew it couldn't be this easy to escape and that maybe this was some kind of trap, but the pull to her freedom became too much. She couldn't help herself, she ran at top speed to the door, completely forgetting about her washroom break. However, just as the tip of her fingers grazed the handle, just as she allowed herself to feel a pang of hope, the door swung open to reveal a grinning Merle.

"Goin' somewhere?" -he mocked-

She tried to reel away from him, but he caught both her wrists, and dragged her deeper into the apartment.

"You didn't actually think it would be that easy, did you?"

She felt tears sting her eyes, because yes, she had been stupid enough to think so, for a few seconds anyways.

He released her wrists and walked over to the front door which was still half open, and slowly closed it and then proceeded to lock it, his mocking grin was still ever present.

"Oh yes, I'm gonna' have to keep a very close eye on you."

After his statement, she came to comprehend that for him, this little stunt had all been some sort of twisted test.

He wanted to see, if she would try to escape, if the opportunity presented itself. Perhaps, he had thought that she would have been too afraid to even consider escape after their last encounter. Now, however, he knew that was not the case. Beth suddenly grasped, that planning a successful escape was going to be that much harder now. But honestly did he expect her to roll over and die? He had another thing coming for him.

After he locked the door, he leaned against it casually, and simply stared at her.

She wrapped her arms around herself protectively, trying not to fidget.

"Is there something you want, sleeping beauty?" -he said after a few moments of silence-

She jumped at the sound of his voice, and slightly nodded.

"I need to use the washroom." -she managed to say in a steady voice-

He pointed towards the hallway.

"Second door to your right."

She quickly made her way towards the hallway, followed his instructions, and closed the bathroom door behind her. Possibly, due to her overly organized habits and her panicked and frantic state, she mentally began to analyse and compare Merle to his brother Daryl. From what she had seen, Merle wasn't as tall as his brother or as bulky, but they shared resemblances in their features. They possessed the same strong jaw line and the same structure of cheek bones, but unlike Daryl, Merle's hair seemed to be lighter despite his very short cut. His eyes were cruel, cold, and controlled. Daryl's eyes were less controlled, more savage in a way but they were not cruel.

She hated both these men with all her heart, but out of the two, already she preferred Daryl. He had never showed open cruelty as Merle, and he did technically save her life. In truth, however, she did not know either of these two men or their _real_ motives. Daryl had said that he had saved (no sparred seemed like a much more appropriate term) her because she was "innocent" but how was she supposed to know what he said was true? Maybe Daryl was, in reality, far worse than his older brother.

Merle displayed his cruelty openly, Daryl seemed to be more reserved, but perhaps when he lost his temper, he would surpass Merle's cruelty immensely. Beth remembered when he had almost lost his temper earlier today, and shuttered in fear. Yes, she decided, both of these men were equally evil in her eyes.

Slowly, she blinked back into focus, and came back to her present predicament.

She hurriedly did her business on the toilet, washed her hands, and afterwards leaned against the sink. She regarded herself in the small cracked mirror that was hung directly in front of her, slightly cringing as she saw her own reflection. Her pony tail was completely ragged, her light blue eyes were bloodshot red from crying, and the left side of her forehead was mildly bruised. She closed her eyes, and took in a few calming breaths.

When she opened them again, a red dot on her shirt caught her attention. She looked down to the sleeve of her left shoulder and suppressed a terrified scream when she realized what exactly the red stain was.

Blood, and it wasn't her own.

It must have come from the dead man she had seen in the alleyway. The man that Merle and Daryl must have killed. She didn't even want to think about how it had gotten on her shirt, that thought alone made her want to heave.

Slowly, without even her own permission, her body sank down to the grown.

She had witnessed a murder.

She should have realized such a thing the moment she had awoken in this strange apartment. Perhaps in the back of her mind, she had known, but her shock had prevented her from really putting all things together.

All her thoughts had centered on ways to escape, ways to get the hell out of here, to go back to her old life. She had been consumed with thoughts of escape, but now one thing became very clear.

She could never get back to her old life. She had witnessed a murder! She knew too much, they wouldn't be keeping her alive for very long. She had thought she had a good chance of making it through this mess and getting back to her happy little life, but their own necks were on the line.

As soon as she was free she was going to report them to the police.

They knew this, so they were going to kill her, because the dead told no tales.

She frantically began to scan the small bathroom, looking for anything that could be used as a weapon, but all drawers were completely bare. Everything had been cleared out.

To make matters worse (if that was possible), the bathroom didn't even have a small window. There was no hope in a possible escape. She felt as if death awaited her on the other side of this room, it probably did.

She dug her nails into her palm, and bit her bottom lip in anger.

Why would they bring her here? They obviously could never let her roam free again. Even if she was innocent as Daryl had said, why make her a prisoner? Surely death was a far kinder fate.

As soon as she released her bottom lip, a sob escaped her mouth.

What did they want from her?

She quickly wiped away the few tears that dared to escape and stood up to begin pacing the room.

She would not, could no longer sit by waiting for her own death. The faster they could get rid of her, the faster they would be in the green. She probably wasn't going to live passed today, but she wouldn't go down without a fight.

In a moment of courage, or perhaps hysteria, Beth opened the bathroom door and began marching down the hall.

If she were to die, she would first get answers.

* * *

 **Let me know what you think!**

 **Thank you to** GeorgieGirl75 , Reignashii , Joise , **and** StrangersAngel **for your reviews!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Beth barged into the kitchen with her head held high. Daryl and Merle both turned simultaneously to face her.

"Took you long en- -began Merle, but she quickly cut him off-

"What do you want from me?" -She was practically shouting-

"I want you to go back into that room" Merle pointed towards the white door across the kitchen. "And behave like a good little girl."

Beth slammed her hands against the counter in frustration.

"I know you took me because I saw the dead body. I-I know you're going to have to kill me." –she took a deep breath to gather her courage before she continued. "But why make me wait? If you're going to do it, then just do it!"

Both men looked shocked from her outburst. Even Merle had lost his horrible grin. The room fell into a deathly silence.

"I would kill you." –said Merle "Believe me I want to."

Her heartbeat sped up at his words; her hands were shaking at her sides.

"But…"-he continued- "Daryl here won't let me, its cause of him you're here and alive."

He was now standing directly in front of her.

"If it were up to me, you'd be long dead." -with that said he turned on his heels and left the apartment, slamming the door behind him as he went.

* * *

Daryl and Beth stood in silence after Merle's departure. Beth eventually had to press a hand against the wall to keep herself from falling, she felt as if she was going to faint. Her ears were ringing and black dots were dancing across her vision.

She closed her eyes, took a few soothing deep breaths in and out, and stood up straight as she felt a little more stable. Slowly, her eyes opened and she locked gazes with Daryl, who was standing quietly near the counter.

Merle had made it quite clear that her fate was literally in this man's hands. Not a soul should ever possess the kind of control over a person's life as Daryl had upon her own. Whenever the mood would strike him, she would be dead.

That thought alone forced her to once again, lean against the wall for support.

"Beth?" -She distantly heard Daryl murmur-

"Please don't."-She whispered- "don't say anything."

Beth had reached her limit for the day. She could no longer process the terrible things that had happened to her in the past few hours. If she thought about it all now, she was sure she was going to have a nervous breakdown.

She walked towards her cage, shut the door and slowly slid down its length. She felt as if the final ounces of strength, of courage, and of hope she possessed had just evaporated before her very eyes.

It had only been a few hours since she had woken up in this hell, and already she was falling to pieces. She leaned her head against the door, and began to think about her loved ones, wondering if they realized she had went missing yet. Surely someone would come looking for her eventually.

For that very reason Beth wasn't going to allow herself to fully give up, she needed to keep fighting so that when someone found her, they wouldn't find a dead body.

She let out a shuddering breath and sank down lower against the door; her mind was racing, trying to plan possible ways of escape. Her body however seemed to have reached its limits, because in the next short minutes her eyes began to flutter shut. Her adrenaline died down, and she drifted into unconsciousness, hoping that when she would wake up,

This nightmare would be over.

* * *

Daryl leaned against the counter in the kitchen; his eyes were focused on the white wooden door across the room.

He had never been one to worry for others, in his mind, everyone had to take care of themselves and if they were too weak to survive, it was on them, not him.

He cared for no one but his brother, and he was not one to show any signs of compassion. Even if he wanted to better himself, that had never changed.

Now, however, for the first time in his life, he was worrying for someone other than Merle. He was downright nervous for her, for the small frail women, who hardly even seemed to be a grown woman yet.

What scared him above all was that he _was_ responsible for her life. At the snap of his fingers he could decide to end her life. It would be so easy, it would make things a hell lot easier, but he did not want to see her hurt.

He had taken lives before without giving it much thought but he had never saved anyone other than his brother, he had never wanted to.

Until now.

His thoughts drifted back to the moment when he had first laid eyes on her.

 _A flash of blonde hair flew across the sidewalk nearest to the alleyway, and stopped short. A young woman leaned her hands against her knees and tried to catch her breath. After a few moments, she stood up straight and began to scan her surroundings, he saw her body stiffen in fear when she realized that she was lost, he knew that girls like her didn't venture into places like this without being lost._

 _In the mist of his thoughts, he heard her cry out as Merle shoved her into the alleyway; he walked towards his brother in anger._

 _"_ _What the hell are you doing? Let the girl go._ _"_

 _"_ _And have her run along to the police?_ _"_ _-came his brother's reply._

 _The girl whimpered against Merle's hand and squeezed her eyes shut._

 _She was small, frail, and afraid. He couldn't help but immediately associated her as being weak, undeserving._

 _He knew she had no doubt seen the dead body by now which meant she had to die, or else Merle would die. Even then when he had decided that he didn't want anything to do with his brother anymore, when he was trying to be a "good" person, he knew he wouldn't stop his brother from killing her._

 _In the end, if he had the choice, he would always choose Merle._

 _Just when he was about to tell Merle to just get it over with, two blue eyes locked with his, and his mouth clamped shut._

 _Through the years of his life, he had never seen eyes such as the ones who regarded him now. They were eyes that were pure, eyes that were soft, eyes that were innocent. She was a complete stranger to him, but in that very moment, he knew that she was a person who was good in every sense of the word._

 _He didn't think people like that still existed in the world. His life that had always been filled with violence, darkness, and the evil that lurked in men, but now for the first time in his life he saw a human being who didn't possess an ounce of bad, of corruption._

 _She was good._

 _It was strange but he began to feel something he hadn't felt in a very long time, he felt hope._

 _How could he possibly stand by and watch her die? How could he watch the first thing to give him hope in nearly 3 decades be destroyed?_

 _Merle pushed the gun harder against her head, which caused her eyes to squeeze shut in response. This action caused him to quickly speak up._

 _"_ _She's innocent._ _"_ _-he tried to reason with Merle-_

 _"_ _She'll get us both killed._ _"_

 _After the words left his brothers mouth, the girl was thrown onto the ground. Her sobbing grew louder as Merle raised the gun to her head._

 _Catching his brother off guard, he took the gun from the barrel and raised it to the girl's head, her eyes widened first in shock, than in fear. He looked away from her piercing gaze and swung hard enough to knock her out._

 _"_ _What the hell?_ _"_ _-Came Merle's incredulous tone -_

 _He knelled down beside her, ignoring his brother who was all but screaming in fury, and brushed his fingers against the gash on her forehead that was beginning to swell._

 _He wanted to be a good person, but deep down he knew that he was past the point of being saved; in fact he did not know how to be good. The next best thing would be to save someone who already was._

 _In that very instant, he swore to himself that he was going to keep her alive and safe._

Merle's entrance in the apartment broke Daryl free from his thoughts. He locked gazes with Merle, and then sighed, his brother was furious.

"Control yourself, Merle."

His brother was all but shaking in anger as he approached Daryl. Drops of sweat beamed down his forehead.

"We gotta get rid of her."

Daryl rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"We've been over th-

"No, Daryl! -he cut in- this ain't gonna work, she has to go."

"You're not gonna lay a finger on her." he all but growled.

Merle rubbed his temples in exasperation.

"I know you wanna be the big hero, but I don't have a choice anymore."

His dark eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Why?"

Merle's features creased in worry.

"Some bastard from another gang saw us take her, he must have seen the symbol on my jacket, because he knew the kidnapping was related to my gang."-Merle paused to wipe away sweat from his face- "The police are now hot on our asses, everyone in my gang is suspicion of each other. They might come snooping around." -his hand slightly traced the gun on his belt- "I ain't gonna risk my life for her."

Daryl's eyes were once again focused on the white door. The facts that Merle was closest to the door, to her, made him feel a pang of nervousness. Merle was always one to act upon his instinct, and his instinct in this situation was to go for the kill.

Daryl slowly advanced upon his brother, approaching him as one approached a dangerous wild animal on the brink of attack.

"I'll leave for a while; I'll take her with me."

Merle laughed and shook his head. "You couldn't handle her alone. You'd get yourself caught in no time."

"No." -Daryl continued- "I'll be careful"

His brother shook his head once. "Let me deal with this."

With that said, Merle quickly spun around so that he was facing the door. His fingers were gripped around the guns handle, but before he could reach the door, Daryl pounced on him, dragging him to the floor.

Merle immediately retaliated and punched Daryl in the face, which lead his younger brother to return the favour. Both men struggled for a few short moments, knocking over furniture as they went until Merle grew motionless. Daryl also ceased his struggles as he felt his brother, who was pinned beneath him, go still.

"You're not gonna be able to guard her forever, I'll get her eventually."

Both men grew silent, breathing heavily and simply starred at each other until Daryl slowly lifted his weight for Merle, and got to his feet.

He reluctantly moved away from the door, so that Merle was nearest once again, but before Merle could take a step towards it, Daryl clamped a hand on his shoulder.

"This is my only chance of doing something right, something that can make up for some of the bad I've done." He lifted his gaze to meet Merle's- "I can't let someone who has done no wrong get hurt, I wouldn't be able to live with myself anymore."

He slowly removed his hand from his brother's shoulder and stepped away.

"If you kill her, you'll be killing me." He left Merle standing alone in the apartment.

* * *

Beth was woken up by the sound of crashing coming from the other room. She jumped up to her feet fast enough to make her head spin, and quickly distanced herself from the door.

What was happening out there?

It sounded as if someone was being attacked; perhaps Merle and Daryl were in trouble.

 _Serves those bastards, right._ Was the first thought to cross her mind but what happened if the one attacking them was in fact worst then they were?

She knew she was in a terrible awful situation, but she knew realistically things could be must worst. Her captors had never in fact physically hurt her, touched her in any way.

There were such things that were in fact worse than death.

Maybe behind that door, was someone who would do such things? Maybe it was someone who was evil in every sense of the word.

The crashing ceased, and the only thing Beth could hear was her rapid breathing.

Her heart felt as if it sank as she saw the handle of the door slowly twist.

She hurriedly grabbed a chair, the only weapon she could think of, and watched as the door slowly opened.

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